Strange Pictures

Uketsu. Strange Pictures. New York : HarperCollins 2022. Print.

 

First Sentences:

All right, everyone, now I'm going to show you a picture.


Description:

What a compelling opening sentence. Who could not read at least a few more lines to have a peek into that picture and why this person wants to talk about it? The simple, perfect hook for readers. 

 

I absolutely cherish any book that when, after reading the very last line, all I can think about is going back to the beginning and re-reading the whole story again. 

This time, I think, I will catch the subtle hints about the characters, what's about to come, and the significance of overlooked actions and words as the story slowly unravels anew before me. 

It's like watching a great movie that you re-watch again and again for the plot, the characters, the foreshadowing, and the still-surprising actions (like in Jaws when you can never really expect nor avoid jumping when the dead man's skull drops down in the hole in the sunken boat hull).

 

In Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Note: please click here to read about this mysterious Japanese YouTuber/Author sensation whose identity is unknown as he always wears a masks and black body suit when pictured), we are presented with four seemingly unrelated stories as well as nine drawings. All seem distinctly separate from each other, including the art work. 

 

But after coming across an obscure blog called Oh, No, Not Raku, two college students in Japan are captivated by the drawings in this blog and the diary entries from its author. Raku's daily postings center around his family but contain drawings by his wife. These are quick sketches which seem somehow related, but pose many puzzling questions to the college students, especially after Raku posts that his artistic wife died during childbirth of their daughter

When faced with true sorrow, people lose even the strength to shed tears.

Next we jump to a story centering on an unusual picture drawn by a pre-schooler for his mother. It depicts the boy and mother standing in front of a six-story building. The strange part of the picture is that the apartment room where they live is smudged out. Why would that be? If someone could explain this "intentional" blurring in the drawing, they might therefore understand the boy and his mama, and possibly the history of each.

 

The two other stories also involve drawings, but their plots focus on character studies, broken relationships, crimes and mysteries where the drawings might contain a valuable key. 

 

But best of all, somehow all these stories, people, and situations have a connection to each other. Slowly, ever so slowly, readers begin to unravel confusing clues, clarify relationships, and uncover overlapping timelines in this seemingly simple, yet wildly entertaining book.

 

It's one of the most unusual, gripping, and puzzling books I have ever read. Cannot wait to start it all over again in the very near future, maybe next week. Uketsu has another book out now as well, Strange Houses, so I'm definitely checking that one out as well. Highly recommended.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Hallett, Janice. The Twyford Code.

Probably the most complex, yet completely engrossing mystery I've ever read involving the search for a children's book which might contain in its text the secret to a lost stash of money. Highest recommendation. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

Click here to browse over 470 more book recommendations by subject or title (and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Daikon

Hawley, Samuel. Daikon. New York : Avid Reader 2025. Print.

First Sentences:

Major Edward T. Houseman left his barracks tent at 8th Avenue and 125th Street -- the Columbia University district -- and headed down the crushed coral roadway in the direction of Times Square. It was eleven o"clock at night and a half-moon was rising, painting the island bluish gray. He passed a row of Quonset huts on his left, backed by miles of runways for the B-29s.


Description:

It's rare for me to find a book that completely satisfies all my criteria for a great book: strong characters, captivating plot, challenging setting, and wonderful writing. Daikon by Samuel Hawley is my most recent find. I'm so happy to share it with you.

 

Each of these four elements in Daikon (plot, characters, writing, setting) force you to keep going, paragraph after paragraph. You simply must find out what's going to happen next, what choices will the characters make, what obstacles, frustrations, triumphs, and dangers will they next face, what the outcomes will be, and how wil they and their world be affected. It's kind of like forcing yourself to watch a thriller movie from behind your fingers placed over your eyes. You have to find out, but you fear what you might see/read. In Daicon, it not a bloody scene you anticipate; it's the on-the-edge-of-your-chair outcome, whatever it might be, to every situation on every page.

 

Here's the scenario and a very brief intro to whet your interest. In the waning days of World War II, Japan's cities and population have been devastated by continual American and Allied bombings. Many in the Japanese government as well as among the people, are ready to surrender. Others, however, feel giving in would be the ultimate in humiliation and are prepared to rally a pro-Japan resurgence with similarly-minded people, including some military, even if it means overthrowing the Emperor and his government.

 

Through an accident, days before the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, an American plane crashes in Japan. It was on a mission to drop the first nuclear bomb on a Japanese city, the premier display of the bomb's power. After the American plane crash, this bomb falls into the hands of the Japanese. However, they are uncertain exactly what this odd-looking device actually is and what its use might be.

 

So how do the Japanese unwrap its secrets? Are there even any scientists left in their devastated country who might be able to decode this weapon? And ultimately what do the finders of this tool plan to do with it before Japan crumbles and surrenders?

 

The rest of the story focuses on the Japanese people involved with these challenges: a scientist, his wife, the army commander, and a lowly navy enlisted man. Together and separately, they embody Japan's dreams, skills, and dedication. What keeps you reading is trying to discover the outcome created by these people on the lost American bomb and possibly the War itself?

 

That's what will keep you up long into the night.

 

As you might sense, this is a special book, completely gripping on every level. You just cannot walk away from these fascinating, often ordinary, but committed characters as they face challenge after challenge.

 

Get it. Read it. And savor the storytelling skills of Samuel Hawley. Highest recommendation. 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Conaway, Janes. American Prometheus 

Highly-detailed history of the United States' Manhattan Project, which was tasked to secretly develop, test, and make available, in a very short time span, an atomic weapon before the Germans do.

 Happy reading.

Fred

Click here to browse over 470 more book recommendations by subject or title (and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Rental Person Who Does Nothing

Morimoto, Shoji. Rental Person Who Does Nothing. New York: Hanover Square 2023. Print.

First Sentences:

I am starting a service called Do-Nothing Rental. It's available for any situation in which all you want is a person to be there...I only charge transport (from Kokubunji Station) and cost of food/drink (if applicable). I can't do anything except give very simple responses.


Description:

I just couldn't resist this outrageous (and enviable) title and premise of Shoji Morimoto's Rental Person Who Does Nothing: a man who hires himself out to accompany another person, but is not required to do or say anything during their encounter; just be there. He gets "payment for being."

Morimoto is inspired by a blog from a health counselor, Jinnosuke Kokoroya, who stated:

People should be paid for just being there...people have a value even if they do nothing.

Another inspiration for him was Pro-Orgorareya, a "professional guest," whose job "is having meals with people.

He just asks people on Twitter to give him food and somewhere to stay. Of the offers he gets, he chooses the ones that look most appealing. 

It seems an incredible concept. Yet author Morimoto, a real-life person, has gained many clients over the past few years via his "Do-nothing Rental" Twitter site. Over 4,000 clients have hired him (at relatively no cost except for travel and food) for such opportunities as:

• Going to a restaurant with someone who doesn't feel comfortable going on their own;
• Watching a drama rehearsal;
• Petting a person's pet dog who loves strangers;
• Walking through the streets of Tokyo;
• Sitting with someone while they scan through dating apps looking for a husband;
• Watching someone doing household chores;
• Passively listening to people (without giving advice)

He never performs activities like other advertised  "doing something" services, such as waiting in line for tickets, running errands, give advice, etc. He judges his requests received from his Twitter account on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes he finds he dislikes the job during the experience, gets fed up with what he is expected to do, and simply walks away. He avoids anything that might be stress-inducing. He rarely performs the same situation twice unless somehow the encounter will be interesting to him the second time.

The book contains many example taken from his Twitter postings about requests, the encounters themselves, and his comments about the experience, both positive and negative. Names are kept confidential as are other key elements that might identify the requestor. 

Morimoto actually is married to an understanding wife and has a child. His wife supports his occupation and sometimes offers her opinion of potential jobs. She nixed the request to watch people have offline sex. Morimoto is obviously not the big bread-winner of his family.

Although I did think about charging fees, I gave up the idea very quickly....I didn't like the idea of an hourly rate. I hated the feeling that someone would be swapping money for my time. I prefer being paid for getting something done, for achieving certain goals -- payment by results.

At the moment, I'm living on savings. What I do isn't really a business. Maybe it's best to think of it as something I'm doing for fun (like a trip abroad I've saved up for). 

Whew! A completely unique concept that Morimoto actually has brought to reality. Rental Person Who Does Nothing is an intriguing read as he quietly, thoughtfully recounts incident after incident and the philosophy behind his decisions. Through these fascinating pages, he shows that he has achieved his "wish to live without doing anything."

People tend to be driven by a feeling that they must "do something." And once they've done it, they feel they must do more -- better and faster. But when I started connecting with people as Rental Person, I realized that a surprising number were after something rather different. 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

     See More Recommendations 

          (and read an Intro to The First Sentence Reader) 

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Jacobs, A.J.. My Life As an Experiment.   

Jacobs becomes a human guinea pig by offering himself up to real-world experiments like outsourcing all his tasks to a company in India and joining Radical Honesty group where he is not allowed to lie. Very wry, dry, and awfully fun to read. (previously reviewed here)